Pagenaud's Petit P2 time warp

Simon Pagenaud's first mission at Petit Le Mans was to defeat Roger Penske and Porsche's all-conquering RS Spyder on behalf of Acura. Almost a decade later, the Frenchman is heading back to Petit with a new objective: to win for the Captain as a precursor to Acura Team Penske's arrival in 2018.

Known today as the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series champion, Pagenaud is one of a handful of drivers who competed in the American Le Mans Series during its prototype peak in 2008 as factory LMP1 and LMP2 programs waged epic battles.

Teamed with fellow IndyCar champion Juan Pablo Montoya and triple Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves in a ORECA 07 P2 chassis, the Frenchman is returning to a paddock where he won races, earned a championship in 2010 and drew the attention of IndyCar team owners – Penske included – thanks to stellar performances from behind the wheel of a prototype.

Pagenaud has stayed active in the world of sports cars since becoming a full-time IndyCar driver in 2012, but the 10-hour IMSA closer at Road Atlanta on Oct. 7 will mark the first time he's visited with his regular employer since leaving the ALMS.

"Being excited to race at Petit Le Mans is always great, but being able to come with my team, Team Penske, is something else," Pagenaud told RACER. "It's so exciting for us and the team, and I hope the series and fans will like us being there. The really cool thing is I'm excited about the state of IMSA and the state of the prototype cars, the most. The cars have evolved in a very exciting way.

"I got to test the ORECA 07, and the car is phenomenal. The closed cockpit, the look of it; it just feels like Le Mans. It feels like a real sports car. I was never a fan of the open tub; it looked like an IndyCar with covered wheels. This has got the right formula, there's a lot of cars entered for the race and more coming for the future."

As a rabid sports car racing fan with experience across multiple prototype eras, Pagenaud says last week's test in the ORECA was like a trip back in time.

"It's funny; I stepped in the car right after Sonoma, and the seating position is different from what I'm used to these days, but the seating reminded me of the Peugeot 908, and driving around that track, it reminded of racing the Acura there in 2008," he said. "The fun that I had, the high commitment, it felt like it was just yesterday."

Pagenaud found the 2017-spec P2 car has advanced in every area, barring one, from his ALMS days.

"The only difference is there's no tire wars, so that's the only real difference – the contact to the ground – but the aero have evolved in an impressive way, the brakes are so much better, and it was effortless to drive," he added. "It felt like stepping back into a great time for sports cars."

Fresh out of Champ Car, Pagenaud's introduction to Petit Le Mans came with a pair of open-wheel stars in team owner/driver Gil de Ferran and Scott Dixon, who'd won the 2008 Indy 500 and would go on to clinch the IndyCar championship after the enduro.

One could argue Penske's Castroneves-Montoya-Pagenaud trio is a modern version of 2008's fantasy lineup, and the 33-year-old agrees...with 66 percent of that assessment.

"It's rare; we always talk about the old days, the stars of before, the Andrettis, the Foyts, and it's cool to see Penske marking this time with superstars like Montoya and Helio in the car; I don't put myself with them because I haven't achieved nearly as much, but I think it's awesome for the fans to have these guys here as another attraction," he said.

"It doesn't mean it's the full attraction, though, because we have many great drivers in IMSA, in GT, in prototypes, and I think it will be amazing with all these impressive names on the grid."